"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” - Brandon Stanton, HONY (x)

Most of us should know by now the brilliant and eye-opening project that is Humans of New York. Created by street photographer Brandon Stanton in 2010, this blog that started off as a little project on Tumblr has grown to be one of the biggest and most talked about photoblogs in the entire world. Not to mention, the Humans of New York book was on the New York Times bestseller list for 28 weeks after its release. Now, we could go on and on about the accomplishments and the success Brandon Stanton has achieved through the years, but I’d like to focus on why Humans of New York has created an amazing culture in the online world.

First of all, the way the people are photographed is as raw as it can get. No filters or any other post-processing are needed to create these simple yet compelling images. And with these very uncomplicated images, we’re shown vulnerability. We see so many highly-posed portraits of people everywhere we go yet they don’t really say much about what’s underneath someone’s exterior. Brandon Stanton, on the other hand, knows just exactly how to capture someone in their most honest form.

"Her mother and I were going through a dark time when we had her, so we named her Sunshine."

"I should have made more mistakes."

"I realize now that my parents are just regular people with flaws, and my dad is not a villain. He's just an asshole."

This project or movement, whatever you want to call it, has given its audience so much more than providing insight to what people are like in other parts of the world. It has given a form of enlightenment or even solace to some because they feel like they can relate to what people in the blog have shared about themselves; and this is why people love Humans of New York so much. They have found a platform where they can read about other people’s experiences they can learn from and empathize with. From heartbreaks to triumphs, HONY gives us everyday stories that may have shaped the lives of many.

“I didn’t really mind my parents getting divorced. I wasn’t mad at my father or anything. I was just like: ‘Dude, I get it. Relationships end. Just leave.’ My mom actually sent me to therapy because she thought I was handling it too well."

“We were lying in my mom’s bedroom watching TV, and she asked me to get up and turn the lights off in the living room. But I wouldn’t do it because I’m lazy. So she got up to do it herself, and she tripped over a Fresh Direct box and broke her arm. She never left the hospital after that, and she died from her cancer a few weeks later.”

What’s also amazing is that this project has inspired so many other photographers from all over the world to do the same in their own countries. In the Philippines alone, we have quite a number of individuals following the footsteps on Brandon Stanton. As a matter of fact, here is a list of some Facebook pages that do just that.

Now we'd want to know what would you say to Brandon if he were to feature you on HONY. Share your stories in the comments below!